One Family: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
by Weezy815
Summary: Lily is deaf and does not have many friends, but the day she met a chimp named Caesar changed her whole life. This is their story.
1. Chapter 1

Ok, so this is another sample of something in the works. It's just to see what you think of it and if I should post more. The concept of Planet of the Apes does not belong to me, but my OCs do.

This has just been updated so it's slightly different that what you might have rad before.

* * *

"_Lily come to work today?_"

"_Yes!_" I signed excitedly. It wasn't everyday that my mom let me come to work with her so today was an exciting day already.

My mom was a vet at the local zoo and was called in to take care of a snake who had swallowed a pen cap someone had thrown in its cage. When she was done she washed her hands and sent the snake back to its enclosure. While she was doing that, I slipped into the room where Caroline her coworker worked and saw her taking care of a chimp. The man with the chimp smiled at her as she worked on the chimp's leg.

"Ok, what's he saying?" she asked the man. I had known Caroline for a long time so she didn't have to sign for me all the time because I was able to read her lips. She was talking about the chimp. Chimps couldn't speak. Leaning over Caroline's shoulder, I saw the chimp signing to the man.

"He says we should have dinner. Hey," he looked up and saw me. "What's your name?"

I didn't understand all of what he said but I understood 'have dinner' and 'name'. "_Lily._" I spelled for him.

"You sign?" he signed as he spoke the words seeming excited.

I nodded leaning against the wall. "_Deaf._"

"This is great," the man said crouching in front of me. "_Sign name?_" I made an 'L' with my hand and brushed my index finger down my chin making my sign name.

"_Name Will._" He told me. He made a 'W' and brushed his fingers against and away from his temple. "_Chimp Caesar._" He made a 'C' and shook his hand back and forth over his ear. He looked p to Caroline excited. "I never thought I would get to use the sign names. This is exciting. _Come._" He took my hand and pulled me over to the table and lifted me so up I was on the same level as the chimp.

"_Who girl?_" Caesar the chimp asked.

"_Lily, like the flower._" Will answered for me and spoke so Caesar would understand. "She knows sign like you and me so she can talk with you."

Caesar seemed to understand the spoken language better than sign, but that was ok. Mom always said it was possible to speak, but it would be difficult. Now, I had an excuse to learn how to speak with my voice.

"_What happened?_" I asked Caesar and pointed to his leg.

He responded by making the motion of someone hitting his leg.

"_Mean neighbor. Hit Caesar with bat._" Will elaborated for me.

Someone must have walked in the door because all three heads turned in the same direction. I looked too and saw my mom.

"_Who this?_" she asked me.

"_Will and Caesar,_" I answered her pointing to the man and his chimp.

"Hello, I am Doctor Will Rodman," Will introduced himself to my mother holding out his hand to shake still holding onto me.

"Doctor Sullivan," she shook his hand.

"Do you have a first name?"

Caroline laughed under her breath because she knew my mom was still a little embarrassed at her name because it was so odd.

"Yes," she sighed. "Nova Sullivan. My parents were astronomers. I must ask, what are you doing with my daughter?" She didn't ask it in a mean way just one of curiosity I could tell that by the expression on her face. It was easy to read my parents because I spent the most time with them.

"Oh, she's yours?" The look on Will's face changed to one of embarrassment. He was completely unaware that I was her daughter and was worried how it looked for my mom to walk in and see me in his arms.

"Yes."

"She can sign, my chimp can too. I thought it would be good for Caesar to speak with someone else who knew sign language instead of it just being me."

The light happy look on my mother's face changed to one of seriousness. "That sounds _great_. Would you like to sit and talk Mr. Rodman?"

"Sure," he said somewhat hesitantly.

"_Play with Caesar,_" my mom told me as she offered Will a seat. Will set me down next to the operating table which was too tall for me to be able to reach Caesar without a step stool.

"_Ice cream?_" he asked me through sloppy movements.

I nodded. "_Ice cream good._" There was no way to know just how much sign he knew. Everybody was different in how much they knew. My mom knew more than me so she could teach me and I knew more than Caesar so I could teach him.

"_I'm three,_" I signed to him.

"_Me too._"

"_Handsome chimp_," I signed looking at him. As far as chimpanzees went, I had not meet many and the ones I had meet were dirty and smelled funny. Caesar was pleasing to be around. He also knew sign. 'Handsome' was just the first words that came to mind when we spoke.

"_What _'handsome?' " he asked me repeating my hand motion of brushing his fingers on his left cheek and then right cheek in a downward motion.

Worriedly, I looked to Caroline and spelled out 'handsome' to her. She then spoke to Caesar. "She says your handsome. Pretty."

It almost looked like Caesar blushed when Caroline told him what I said. He turned to me, tapped my shoulder with his long fingers, and signed "_Pretty_." He then pointed to my eyes individually. One green and one blue.

We talked for a little while longer talking about what we liked and what we watched on TV which wasn't much for me because I couldn't read that well. As we talked, Caroline finished stitching up his leg and my mother and Will talked.

When Caroline was done, all five of us went out for ice cream. Caesar had to hide in a baby carriage until we left the zoo. It was weird seeing how the chimpanzees acted when we went by. He poked his head out and the chimps in the inclosure fell silent. The sleeping ones woke up to look at him. The change in the chips was completely forgotten when the five of us went to the ice cream stand.

Looking up at Caesar from my mint ice cream, I saw his vanilla smeared all over his face and in his fur. I laughed at him and he smiled showing me all his teeth.

It was then that my mom told me I would be seeing Caesar again. Caesar and I were both excited about this because we liked each other quite a bit. She told me that she and Will had arranged for me to visit him once a week because it would be good for both of us and we would both learn a great deal.

* * *

Thanks for your time. Please let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed! You gave me the motivation to continue writing. This whole fic is probably going to change many times until it begins to merge with the movie so please hold on with me.

The Planet of the Apes series does not belong to me, but Lily my OC does.

* * *

Over the next year, Caesar and I grew closer as the people around us did too. When Caesar came over one day, he looked happier than usual.

"_Caesar happy_," my mother spoke and signed when he walked in the door by himself. She leaned out the door to wave at Will as he drove away. They had come over so much that Will just let Caesar run up to the door on his own. Caesar leaned out the door to wave to Will before coming in and smiling.

"_Why so happy?_" I asked him.

"_Will happy. Caroline,_" he responded.

"Will's dating Caroline?" my mom asked shocked.

Caesar nodded his head and began to spin around the room on his knuckles. Caesar and I both knew that Will had liked Caroline for a while, but it took him so long to finally ask her out. It was fun to see Caesar so happy.

"_Why wait so long?_" I asked him when he calmed down.

"_Will nervous she say no,_" Caesar signed to me when he reached the top of the stairs on his way to my room.

My mom spoke to him and signed for me, "_Caroline has liked Will since the day we met you._"

I tugged on her skit to get her attention. "_You knew?_"

She just laughed. "_Of course I did. When you get older, you will learn to see it too. Now, go play._"

After that, I chased Caesar upstairs into my room.

My room was wallpapered with a blue sky with white clouds, a white picket fence and a terrace over the windows. The bed was covered with a pink bedspread with several different colored hearts. He was sitting on my bed looking at the new Barbie I'd gotten.

"_New doll look like Lily,_" Caesar signed as I crawled up onto my bed.

"_Gift from Caroline,_" I replied crawling over next to him.

He pulled his G.I. Joe action figure from the box of toys in my room and handed it to me. We played for at least an hour before he smiled to me and signed, "_Ice cream?_"

With only a smile to communicate, we hoped down from the bed and made our way into the kitchen where I let Caesar crawl on my back. He wasn't too heavy so I was able to give him a boost to the top of the fridge where he opened the freezer and pulled out the ice cream to hand to me. I placed the cold box on the counter while he closed the freezer and climbed to the island in the middle of the kitchen. I grabbed the spoons as he opened the container with his feet and his hands. Once it was open, he helped me climb onto the counter where we both enjoyed the spoils of our victory.

Even at that age, I was aware of the benefits of having a chimp as a friend gave me. It meant more food from the pantry and freezer.

"_What ice cream?_" he asked me as he held the spoon in his mouth with his foot.

Holding onto my spoon with my teeth, I replied. "_Banana._"

He smiled happily as we ate most of the box.

When my mother came in, she was not upset at us, but amused. She was learning how much trouble the two of us could get ourselves into while unsupervised. I knew she made a mental note of the event because I remember not being able to stuff our faces with ice cream like that again for a very long time.

.. .. ..

In the next year, I had started school, so that meant less usual time with Caesar, but he was able to come over more often. Before my parents took me to my first day of school, they told me that it was unusual for people to have chimps as friends, so I shouldn't mention Caesar. At least not at first.

I ended up making a very good friend. Her name was Sarah. After knowing her for a few weeks, I told her my best friend was a chimp and she seemed to think that it was the coolest thing in the world and expressed an interest in meeting him. One day she was able to meet him.

My sixth birthday party was awkward. It was mostly parents. Sarah's parents Ellie and Tony were there. Caesar's parents Will and Caroline. Then me and my parents.

Sarah's parents didn't know what to think of Caesar sitting at the table and were apprehensive when Caesar got a piece of the fruit pizza I wanted instead of a cake. Yes, he had been the reason for fruit pizza instead of cake, but fruit pizza was better anyway. It was like Heaven on earth and Caroline requested the recipe after the party.

Seeing Tony, Ellie, and Sarah sitting at the table, Caesar tried to use the silverware. They watched him fumble with the silverware but I told him he didn't have to and put mine down so he wouldn't be alone. I told him he could use his hands because it was not required to eat with silverware. It made me smile to see Sarah put her silverware down too. Before I knew it, everyone had put down their forks and were using their hands to eat. Caesar smiled at me and I knew it had been a good day.

After fruit pizza however, there was an awkward moment of silence. There was also a partial language barrier. Sarah knew more sign than her mom because she was friends with me so my mom and dad translated when needed. It was difficult being able to talk at the table because Sarah's parents didn't know if I was talking to them or not. I mean, I'd heard about awkward silences, but being deaf I was constantly living in silence. But this silence I could feel in the air. Eventually, things worked out for the best and the day ended in smiles.


	3. Chapter 3

I want to thank all of the new followers and favorites! Not all of you have received a thank you yet, but one should be coming eventually. There are just so many of you. It really makes me smile! Here's chapter 3. I hope it was worth waiting for.

As for the guest who asked if this story would carry over to Dawn, the answer is yes. It will carry over.

* * *

"_Storms today. Be careful,_" mom signed to me as I crawled in Will's car.

"We'll take care of her Nova!" Will shouted closing the door behind me.

It was all of ten minutes after arriving at Will's that the storm arrived.

As a loud thunder clap shook the house, I ran to the corner of Caesar's room and threw my arms over my head. It was a few seconds before the house stopped shaking.

Caesar hopped over to me and tapped my knee. He didn't stop until I looked up at him.

"_Why small?_" I knew he was asking about my being curled up in the corner.

"_Scared._"

"_Why scared? Just loud noise._"

"_That shakes house. House could fall._"

He grabbed the blanket from his bed and wrapped it around my shoulders forming a cloak like shape over my head. Then he took a seat in front of me and held my hand.

"_Storm not last long. Be happy not hear._"

He made me smile. "_Why?_" I asked.

"_Loud._"

I laughed. He smiled back and threw his head back to laugh like only he could. Will came upstairs and saw us huddled in the corner and worry crossed his face.

"_What wrong?_"

"_No more problem,_" I signed. "_Caesar fix._"

Will smiled at us and for a moment and it was the same look a parent had when looking at their child playing with someone else. I had seen it many times on my mother's face. It vanished quickly, but the smile was still in his eyes. "_Come on. TV before bed?_"

Caesar and I both nodded and Will came and lifted me in his arms and Caesar crawled on his back. He took us downstairs and placed me on the couch. Caesar crawled onto the hammock will had screwed into the ceiling for Caesar's TV viewing pleasure.

X-Files was on. My parents wouldn't have approved of it normally but then again they never knew about it so there was no problem. Half way through the episode called Darkness Falls with the green bugs that attacked at night, I felt Caesar crawl onto the couch next to me. A minute later when Scully was wiping the bugs off her arms there was a flash within the room and Caesar and I both jumped four feet in the air. It was a scary part of the episode so we were both scared when we saw the flash. We looked over and saw Will laughing. He held a camera in his hand and a picture was on the screen.

"_Both take good photos,_" he signed to us.

"_Show,_" Caesar said.

On the camera screen was a picture of us. I was hidden under a blanket with my knees to my chest and Caesar's knees were at his chest and he had a few of his fingers resting on his lower lip. Both of us had our eyes locked on the screen.

After Darkness Falls was over Will played his favorite episode of the X-Files. He told me the episode was called Home and was a little weird but he thought both Caesar and I could handle the weirdness. In that episode there was a family of four who lived far away from the city. The mom was the mother of the three boys but the oldest boy was the father of the younger two brothers. That was a bit too much for me to handle so I closed my eyes when Mulder found the mother screaming at him under the bed and didn't open them until I could be sure the episode was over.

That night I don't even remember the end of the episode because I had fallen asleep. I know I fell asleep because Will took another picture. In the second photo I was asleep on Caesar's shoulder and his head was resting on top of mine. Both pictures ended up on Will's fireplace mantle and mine.

.. .. ..

I was seven at the time Caesar and I were climbing trees like a pro. It had always been one of my favorite things to do and he was the best friend to climb trees with.

I followed Caesar right into a tree behind Will's house but he could climb better than me. In an attempt to prove that I could climb like him I leapt straight up but slipped and fell. Nothing seemed wrong to me until I saw Caesar shrieking and running over to me.

"_Arm! Arm!_" he signed quickly.

Looking down, I saw my arm bent at an unusual angle. It was completely broken. I remember screaming and crying and Caesar shaking my arm next to me.

"_Arm! Arm!_" he signed to me over and over again as I cried.

"_Arm broken._" I signed with one hand.

Caesar screamed as only he could which got Caroline and Will to come outside. Caesar ran over to him and grabbed Will's sleeve trying to drag him over.

"_What wrong?_" Will asked me from the deck.

"_Arm._"

"Why didn't you tell me?!" he shouted to Caesar. "Oh shit!"

The second he knew about my arm, he sprinted over and scooped me into his arms. He made for the car, jumped into the front seat with me and Caroline peeled out of the driveway headed toward the hospital. Caroline drove while Caesar bounced around in the back. At the hospital, the doctor reset the bone and wrapped my arm in a cast.

"How did this happen?" the doctor asked.

"I don't know. One second she was climbing a tree. The next she was on the ground!"

As the doctor and Will spoke, Caroline was outside in the car with Caesar calling my mother and telling her what had happened. Will insisted he pay for the medical expenses which was hardly anything considering mom knew how to take care of everything and Caroline did what she could before we came to the hospital. She didn't let me see Caesar for a long time, but after I snuck over there for the fifth time, she and dad got the hint that I wasn't going to leave Caesar. We were best friends and were going to remain that way.

It was at that time when I realized my parents began to look at Caesar in a different light. They had always seen him as some kind of trained pet that was there for a constant playmate for me. Until they saw my broken arm, there had never been a threat. It wasn't that they didn't trust Caesar or Will, but more of a realization that Caesar was not like us as much as we felt he had been. He was an outsider. I saw him as an older brother pushing me to do better. It was a shame it took my parents so long to see him like that again.


	4. Chapter 4

It has been far too long since I last updated. In the time since then I have made friend with another writer. Their name is Mauryn. The new character in this chapter is Amanda. Amanda belongs to Mauryn.

* * *

I was eight years old when my mom got me a babysitter. Her name was Amanda. My parents decided they had earned the night out after a long week at work and called a babysitter to watch me. Before they left for their night out, my father sat with Amanda and I. She was a very pretty girl of four feet eleven inches, making her a head taller than me. She had blonde hair like me but hers was a shade darker and hung down to her waist. She wore a floral shirt with dark blue as the base color and a knee length tan skirt. A few items she wore confused me for a while. She wore a pair of sunglasses inside the house and carried a cane with her.

"She's blind," my father signed to me as I sat on his lap looking at her from our other couch. He sat with me while my mom got dressed for the night.

"She can't see?" I asked.

"No, she can't see, but she can hear you." He looked up to her sitting with a straight back in the chair. She must have just spoken so I looked to her too and she was speaking to my father. I had just meet her so it was hard to read her lips, but she seemed to speak clearly so it wouldn't be too hard to learn how she spoke.

The only word I understood her say was "...sign..."

'_Did she sign? Did she understand it?_'

My father signed to me next, "Go tell her your name."

"How?" I asked shrugging my shoulders. "She can't see me."

He laughed before taking my hand in his and writing a few words in print like 'NAME'. "Learns from touch."

With a push from him, I walked over to Amanda and took her hand in mine. I had no doubts she could feel how embarrassed and shy I felt just through my hands.

Before I looked at her small hand I looked once more at my dad who ushered me to continue. Knowing that spelling every word was going to take forever, I opted with using the patchy way of talking. It had always worked for Caesar and my family so why not someone else?

On the palm of her hand I printed 'NAME' and paused. Then I printed 'LILY'. When I was done she took my hand and wrote 'AMANDA'.

I cast a questioning glance up to my father who just smiled at me pleased and turned to speak to Amanda. "That is Lily you felt holding your hand. As you've probably already heard from my wife, she is deaf, however, she can see and can help you around the house. I will walk you around afterwords. She's eight years old and can help you with anything you can't find."

I was going to walk back to my father when a question dawned on me. I walked back over to Amanda and spelled on her hand again. 'WHY BLIND?'

She adjusted her position on the chair before speaking to my father.

"She just asked why I was blind," she told him. He visibly cringed under her words, but that changed when she spoke again. "Please, tell her I will tell her why later."

"Rude child," he scolded me. I just shrugged my shoulders asking what I'd done wrong. To me telling people I was deaf was no big deal. Why should it be any different for someone who's blind. "She'll tell you later why she's blind."

Mom finally came down after dad and I had walked Amanda through the house and told her where things were. They left shortly after. We sat in silence for a few minutes before Amanda held out her hand looking for mine.

I took it and she began to spell in my hand.

'LONG STORY SHORT. BLIND BECAUSE OF BAD MEDICINE. I WAS SICK AS A CHILD. HEART PROBLEMS. MEDICINE TO MAKE HEART BETTER WORKED, BUT I LOST MY SIGHT.'

I squeezed her hand to let her know I'd understood.

I replied to her story with, 'LILY ALWAYS DEAF.'

Communication was slow, but the night went smoothly and Amanda was to come back many more times.


	5. Chapter 5

So before I am reminded of how far apart the updates are, let me just say, that they are finally coming together. It's amazing how much time one can spend thinking about something like this. It's impressive truly. Let me also just say that I apologize for the shortness of this chapter.

Thanks for reading. I don't own this story, just Lily.

* * *

Will and Caroline picked me up early one morning.

"_Lily, wake,_" my mom signed when my alarm had been flashing for several minutes because I was ignoring it.

"_Lily, sleep._"

Mom yanked the covers off the bed forcing me to make the decision to get ready for the day.

"_Will and Caesar coming soon to get you,_" she said.

"_Yeah, yeah. Getting ready._"

Caesar greeted me with nothing but smiles as I piled into the back seat of Will's car carrying my hiking gear.

"_Ready to hike?_" Will asked.

I nodded happily, finally awake.

The morning dew was still damp on Caesar's fur as we drove to the Muir Woods for our day long hike. The mist rolled off the mountains in what looked to be a soft silky blanket, but it was disturbed by every gust of wind, making it ripple like ocean waves.

We filed out of the car quickly before starting on the trail.

"A_lways amazing to watch Lily and Caesar eat,_" Caroline smiled. Because Will had woken us before the sunrise to get an early start on the trail, he decided that it only made sense for us to stop and enjoy an early lunch.

"_Why?_" we asked her sharing the same confused expression.

"_Eat so much!_" she laughed, tickling us.

As if in response to Caroline's words, Caesar delicately grabbed a handful of the strawberries in front of her. She laughed even harder which had been his intention.

I grabbed his sandwich and took a bite before her nudged me with his knuckles demanding the return of his food. After the food war had ended, it was deemed bathroom time. I sighed with relief. The call of nature had been poking me for half an hour and I almost left on my own without the invitation to do so.

"_All right,_" Will clapped his hands together. "_Meet here five minutes._"

I took off in a light jog to a large red tree in the distance where I was sure no one could see me. The call was answered and I turned to face back the way I had come only to find that it was completely gone. Nothing looked familiar.

'_But that's impossible!_' I thought. '_I didn't even go that far!_' My feet carried me back to the meeting spot, but it was empty. '_This has to be the meeting spot. It has to be._' Tears blurred my vision as I tried to find them.

I paced for what must have spanned only three minutes in the same grove of trees, but no one was there. Not a soul walked by. I was completely alone.

.. .. ..

Hours passed. My eyes began to play tricks on me. All of the trees had grown hands and were trying to grab me. The underbrush tugged at my socks and pants while the rocks jumped into my shoes. Dirt covered my arms and the branches grabbed at me, breaking the skin.

For so many years, Caesar had been trying to get me to speak. That day, I shouted. I shouted until my throat was raw and no more sound would come out. I shouted until I cried and curled up at the base of a tree waiting for anything to happen.

A rough hand grabbed my shoulder shaking me hard enough to wake the dead.

"_Caesar!_" I wept into his chest as he hugged me tightly.

I couldn't hear the noise he was making, but by the rapid vibrations his chest was making and the clattering of every stick he could hold beat against the nearest tree, I knew help would come soon.

Caesar didn't say another word to me until Will and Caroline found us.

"_Carry stick,_" he signed, thrusting the largest stick he could find at me. "_Get lost. Beat tree. I hear._"

I hugged him again. He promised to find me wherever I was if I ever got lost.

"_Why do bad things always happen when you visit?_" Will asked me and I even chuckled a little.

"_Yes,_" Caroline smiled. "_Why?_"

"_Go home,_" Caesar signed.

Will picked me up in his arms and carried me to the car. I never remembered reaching the car because I fell asleep in his arms.

.. .. ..

"So how was the hike?" my mom asked when Will carried me inside and toward my bed.

Caesar stood with one hand in Caroline's waving a tired arm in my direction. With the same tired gesture, I waved to him.

Caroline smiled at me before turning to my mother. "It was lovely today. I wish you could have come."

"That's all right. Maybe next time?"

"Yeah," Caroline sighed hesitantly. "Next time." There was not going to be a next time, I could feel it. If there was, it wasn't going to be for a long time.

"Maybe next time she won't run into every briar bush on the path," mom chided me.

"_Maybe,_" I signed with heavy arms.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that no one got lost. Thank you again. Have a nice night."

"Yeah," Will chuckled nervously. "It's a great thing that no one got lost."


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks to all of those of you who keep reading and reviewing. It means so much to see that you've been reading it.

I'm sorry these chapters are so sad and by sad I mean short, but I promise as soon as Rise is done, Dawn is gonna be good.

I do not own Planet of the Apes, but I do own Lily.

* * *

Caesar was sitting my my couch watching something on Animal Planet when my mom opened the door for Amanda. She escorted herself inside and sat with us while my parents said their good byes. They were going on a double date with Will and Caroline so that was why Caesar was over.

Amanda had met Caesar before so it did not surprise her when a chimp's hand took hers to guide her to the only empty spot on the couch.

"_What doing?"_ Caesar asked me.

"_Hair braiding time,"_ I informed him as I took my seat on the back of the couch behind Amanda and began brushing her hair like she taught me how. It amazed me that my blind babysitter taught me how to braid, but once I learned what I was doing, it was literally just feeling the hair wit my hands and it became easy. After a while, I didn't even need to look at what I was doing anymore.

'SO SOON?' she asked as I unbraided her already braided hair.

'YES,' was the only response I needed before she let me give her a new braid and practice others. With golden hair that stretched all the way down to her lower back, it was hard not to braid her hair.

As Amanda and Caesar listened to the TV, Caesar watched me as I braided Amanda's hair. Since Caesar had first watched the X-Files with me, I had never seen him so interested in something. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her hair and the different patterns I could shape it into.

'_Cool?_' I asked him and he nodded still in a trance.

Amanda and Caesar seemed to be talking back and forth without me knowing. It wasn't until several minutes later that I realized something.

'CAESAR CAN NOT SPEAK,' I spelled into the palm of Amanda's hand. 'HOW YOU TALK TO HIM?'

I felt her tense under my touch and knew she was hiding something, but I didn't realize that until many years later.

'CAESAR ASKED A QUESTION WITHOUT SPEAKING,' she said. 'BODY LANGUAGE SPEAKS TOO. YOU TWO FIDGIT ON THE COUCH.' And just like that the conversation was over and my child mind was focused on something else.

.. .. ..

Several weeks later, Caesar appeared at my door. I answered the flashing lights that meant doorbell and let him inside. Amanda was sitting on the couch and he sat down next to her.

Since she couldn't see him, I wondered how she knew he was upset. I could see that, but couldn't understand how she could.

Caesar sat me down and explained to me what had happened. He ran away from home, which wasn't too far considering he lived only a few houses down, but he said he couldn't be at home right now.

"_Caesar lab rat,_" he said. "_Charles smart because Caesar smart. Mother test subject. Mother dead. Caesar pet. Caesar pet._"

It took me a moment to realize that Charles was Will's father. We just never spoke about him.

"_Caesar not pet!_" I signed quickly. "_Caesar best friend._"

"_Caesar ape!_"

"_You my friend._"

"_Charles not smart anymore!_" Caesar signed angrily. "_Medicine not working. Medicine not work for me?_"

"_Don't know._"

Caesar listened to my words before something caught his attention and he turned toward the window. Someone was shouting outside. The two of us rushed to the window to see Charles behind the wheel of his neighbors car.

"_Thought you said he wasn't smart anymore?_" I asked Caesar, but he was already rushing outside to help Charles who was now being assaulted by his neighbor.

The neighbor pushed Charles over and over and you could see that he was confused. Caesar was right. He had changed. Something was wrong.

Many times before I had seen Charles drive Will around, but now he was surrounded by car wreckage.

Before I could tell Caesar to stop, he was launching himself across the street and into the neighbor which sent them both crashing to the ground.

I had never seen Caesar hit someone before and he just kept hitting that man over and over. He kept hitting him until he got hit with a trashcan lid.

The fight stretched over the street, front yard and a block down the sidewalk all the way Caesar looking like a crazed animal. He scared me, but only for a second. He was protecting the people he loved.

I watched the two of them fighting, not having any idea what to do. At some point, Amanda had rushed outside and wrapped her arms around me so I was forced to watch Caesar beat a man, bite off his finger and get shoved into an animal control truck from a distance all the while crying.


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you to all of my readers. You have consistently been coming in since I posted this and in honor of the new movie coming out, I hope to have more written. Here is a sad chapter that I hope is at least going to be a good buffer chapter.

Lily is my character while Amanda is Mauryn's.

* * *

Caesar was just doing what felt natural. His family was threatened, so he fought back. For a fact, I knew he would have done the same thing if my family or I had been threatened. He was just doing what he knew was right, but for that moment, people looked at him differently. They were looking at him the way my parents had when I had broken my arm. They looked at him like an animal.

Amanda, Caroline, Will and I all piled into Will's car to follow the Anima Control truck. Amanda knew there was no point in trying to keep me at home because I would have found a way to find Caesar with or without her help.

When the truck stopped, the driver dragged Caesar our of the back with a leash and started walking towards the gate. It took a few moments for us to let the man let us speak with Caesar who immediately wanted to go home.

"Let's just see what it's like inside. Ok?" Caroline asked. We all knew it. Caesar was getting to large to live with us, but it didn't seem right to send him to an "ape sanctuary." And ape sanctuary wasn't home.

Will held out his hand for Caesar to take and together the five of us walked inside.

"_Play with Caesar,_" Will signed to me with Caesar couldn't see. We played all the time, but this time felt different. It felt like a trick. "_Teach him that this place isn't so bad. Please. It's our only hope of keeping him._"

With those words, I nodded, but not happily.

The manager of the sanctuary unlocked a door revealing a large room. Inside was a large fake tree for climbing decorated with climbing ropes and there was a play ground for exercise. It did not look bad, but it didn't feel like home.

Caesar ran inside curious, but quickly turned to see Will and held out his hand, asking for permission.

"Go on," Will said.

I took a few steps inside the facility and held out my hand to Will in a similar gesture asking for his permission. He was not amused with my attitude, but responded by rubbing his finger tips against the palm of my outstretched hand.

The owner looked on with a confused expression unaware of the tension that was just passing through the air.

"He hasn't spent any time with other chimps," Will said as I walked towards Caesar.

As I crossed the room, I caught a short blonde haired boy with bright blue eyes staring at us through the glass. He was staring at me and I stared back. Finally, he looked away and left.

Caesar watched as I climbed the large plastic tree in the middle of the room. I showed him that it was climbable like the others we used to climb in the woods. He could at least pretend that it was the same. After climbing a few branches and exploring the room Will waved me over to him and I came.

Once I had exited the room, he locked it behind me.

Caesar instantly ran over to us and hit the window.

"Caesar, it's gonna be ok," Will said. "Everything is gonna be ok."

"Don't be scared," Caroline said softly.

"You're gonna stay here now."

Caesar signed the word "home" and I burst into tears. He didn't understand that the law wouldn't let us keep him.

"No. We're not going home right now."

"It's ok."

The manager spoke. "In our experience, the longer you drag out the goodbyes, the harder it is." He walked over with paperwork to sign as if it was routine to rip apart someone's life.

"Can I just sign that later?" Will asked.

"You'll probably miss him more than he'll miss you." I watched as the manager spoke and balled my hands into fists. The only thing that stopped me from punching him right in the stomach was Amanda's hand on my shoulder saying 'don't do it'. "Best give him a couple of weeks to get used to the place."

"I'm coming back soon, ok?" Will shouted.

"_Miss Caesar,_" I signed to him.

"_Where going?_" Caesar signed to Caroline as she left the room. Will made to leave and took my hand so I would follow, but I pulled against him.

"_Now?!_" I couldn't make it back to the window before Will picked me up and carried me away. The pain on Caesar's face made it hard to leave and I began to cry. Caesar pounded against the glass as Will carried me away crying. The look in Caesar's eyes was more pain than I could bare as he watched us walk away and I wept harder. Will patted my back hoping it would calm me down but it didn't.

Before Will dropped me off at home, he told me not to say anything to my mother or father about Caesar being arrested. It just wouldn't look good and the desire to see each other again was mutual so we agreed not to say anything. He told me that if I said nothing about Caesar then I could help attempt to get him to come home sooner.

I spent the rest of the night crying and my mom made sure to give Will what for because of it. I tried telling her that his cat had died that I had loved but she didn't believe it. She eventually forgot about it and let me go see Will and Caroline again.

* * *

Thank you again for reading and I am so sorry about the wait.


	8. Chapter 8

This chapter was not written by me but by my friend Mauryn. Their other work can be found on this website. This is just a little tid bit that she wrote for this particular story and I thought that it fit so much that I had to add it. Here it is.

Lily is my creation.

Amanda is Mauryn's.

* * *

Amanda could hear Lily sobbing before she reached the front door. She rubbed her own eyes, and swallowed back her tears as Lily's Mother let her in the house.

"OH, thank God you're here! I'm sorry to call you out so late, Mandy, but please, Amanda, talk to her. She's been like this for hours?" the poor woman sighed. Amanda thought she sounded on the verge of tears herself.

Patting her hand, Amanda just followed the sounds and found Lily lying face down on her bed, sobbing. Closing the door quietly, Amanda came and sat down next to the grieving child. But when she touched Lily's shoulder, the little girl tried to push her away.

"Lily," Amanda said out loud though she knew Lily could not hear her. Taking the child's hands, she signed, "Amanda, not Mom. Not leaving till talk"

Lily whimpered, but she stopped trying to shove her away. Amanda took the little girl in her arms and held her close. They were both crying now as she rocked the child slowly back and forth.

Once Lily had calmed down a little bit, Amanda sat her on the bed beside her.

"Caesar still has a chance, Lil," she told the little girl through her signs. "Star witnesses, me and you. We'll free Caesar from … from the sanctuary." Amanda barely stopped herself before signing, "from that bad place". She did not like the feelings she got in there, but would not tell Lily about that.

Lily sniffled.

"Promise, Amanda?" she asked.

A tear fell from Amanda's eyes.

"Do our best," she signed to the little girl.

The one thing about being both Lily and Caesar's friend was that Amanda was getting very very good at signing, even if people had to press many of the signs in to her hands so she could read them.

This made Amanda think of how she had taught Caesar to read braille, and write it, too. She still had the notes they'd passed back and forth with each other, and would always keep them.

This also made her think of another dear friend of hers, and that made Amanda had to fight back the urge to sob as hard as Lily had been when she came in.

"Lil, I have a little story for you," she told the girl.

Lily shook her head.

'No stories tonight," she said.

Amanda forced a smile, determined to go on, anyway.

"Someone was taken from me too, Lil. Someone special, a lot like Caesar."

Now this got the little girl's rapt attention. She even stopped crying, almost.

Amanda began to tell Lily of an experimental program she had been a part of a few years back. It was a program to teach some Apes to be guide animals for the blind, like guide dogs, but much much smarter and more capable. Towards the end of her story, Amanda also began to cry quietly, and it was Lily's turn to hug her.

"A bad man tried to hurt me, and my precious friend really didn't hurt that man, much … but they still took him from me," she told Lily. "And I was never allowed to visit him again, not once. She choked back a sob as she said, "I don't even know if … if he's still alive. They closed the program, and that was that."

Pulling herself together a little bit, Amanda tried to smile, but it was a sad little smile

"at least we can go see Caesar. Least he'll have his day in court. My friend never got that chance."

Lily was hugging Amanda, but broke apart long enough to ask, "What was your friend's name?"

Amanda gave a quiet sob. Her special sweet friend, who liked to walk in the parks and play ball and climb trees and even cuddle. He loved cuddling her cat, Elizabeth, and her too. He loved braiding her long hair, though Amanda had been careful not to let anyone else see them playing at that.

"Koba … his name was Koba." Amanda told Lily sadly.


	9. Chapter 9

This chapter is back to the perspective of Lily.

Lily belongs to me.

* * *

Will, Caroline, and I had visited Caesar at the bad place only once over the span of a week. In that week. Caesar had been hurt by one of the other apes and the owner did nothing about it or even reported the incident.

Caroline and I tended to his wound as Will threatened the owner as if it was going to do much. Something changed in Caesar. He looked differently at Will. He didn't trust him anymore.

As we were leaving Caesar looked at me with pleading eyes.

"_Get you out. Promise,_" I said.

"_When?_" he asked me.

"_As soon as I can._"

Caesar looked even more defeated than before and it broke my heart. We were being torn apart.

.. .. ..

"_Stop work!_" I signed angrily and sloppily at Will when we got back to his house.

I was visiting Will and Caroline again hoping to think of a way to get Caesar home, but our hard work was not rewarded. The court date was too far away and Caesar was not liking his new residence. There was not telling what could happen to him in three months.

"What?" he asked. "_Stop work. Cannot do that._"

"_Work made Caesar? Work get Caesar home?_" I asked testily. For days Will kept talking about two things and two things only. How to get Caesar back and how to make the ALZ-112 better and stronger which would help his father return to normal. He was convinced that if he could fix the ALZ-113, then he could produce enough money to free Caesar from the sanctuary.

It was beyond me how he was able to go to work without thinking of getting Caesar home every second of the day. Will made me trick Caesar into thinking that place was a safe place to be when I knew deep down that it was not safe. I hated myself for letting it happen. Caesar had never known other chimps so he was already different than every one there. He also knew sign, but there was no knowing if other apes did too. He was completely out of his element and I was worried for him. He was like a fish out of water.

Will was speaking out loud because he couldn't form the sign words fast enough, but eventually he got around to the words. "_Yes, working. Work help Caesar._"

"_Is it?_"

He was impressed that a nine year old was capable of this much attitude.

Never before had I called Will out on his testing of chimps at the lab, but now was time. Animal tests were wrong, but they created Caesar. Unfortunately, this left Caesar stuck somewhere in the middle. He was smarter than most apes but not quite smart enough to be a human nor did he look anything like us. He was the only one of his kind. "_You just trying to fix your father by testing on apes. You justify tests because Caesar wonderful, but now Caesar old news. Need new Caesar for money._"

"You're missing the point!" Will said loudly. "_One of my men was punched in the face today by a chimp. He may be infected, but chances are good he is safe. We are risking _our_ lives for this cure. You don't understand._"

"Does she, Will?" Caroline asked. "She has a point."

"Working is the only way I keep from going completely insane!"

"_Caesar proof of drug success. When Charles not smart anymore, Caesar protect him. Protecting family is why Caesar in bad place. Your job to get him home._"

Will took a moment to collect his thoughts before sitting down at the table with Caroline and I. "You're right. Partially. _When Charles became sick, I forget to watch him. My fault Caesar in bad place. My job to get him out. If drug successful, then Caesar proof of good again. With proof, Caesar can stay here forever._"

"_Promise?_" I asked him, now finally finding a calmness to envelop myself with.

"_But until then-_" Will began.

I slammed my hands against the table to get their attention. "_Bride the guy!_" I signed agitated with the lack of actual motivation to free Caesar.

"_Bribe who?_" Caroline asked me.

"_Owner of bad place. Caesar come home._"

"How do you know about bribes? You're nine," Caroline said.

"_Buy Caesar back._"

"You know what," Will said. "She's right. That's not a bad idea. Come on. We're going to the bank right now. And my work will save millions, Lily. _Remember that._"

I was excited to have come up with an idea to get Caesar home that might actually work, but something about Will's words gave her an uneasy feeling.

I grabbed Will's arm before he could leave so I could ask him one question. "_What chimp name?_"

"_Chimp?_" he asked seeming slightly confused.

I punched my hand to explain the question. Will's demeanor changed now knowing that things were now not so tense.

"Oh," he exclaimed. "_Koba._"


End file.
